November

It's not without its bumps, but this artsy shot-on-digital psychological indie drama with a potent turn by Courtney Cox and a haunting atmosphere engulfed by trauma, guilt and lost had me engaged through to the end. When her boyfriend is killed in an armed robbery, photographer Sophie struggles to recover when the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur.

Seems to start fairly straight-forward, and this is where I think it's at its best with effectively off-putting and strange moments. Transmitted through its dreary L. A colour plateau and creepy imagery centred around Sophie's photography. But come to the second act, perceptions change constantly. Becoming convoluted in spite of the clues, little by little, foreshadowing a foreseeable outcome. Actions are repeated with varying results, and a non-linear storyline messily switching back and forth between twists and turns. Very gimmicky, but not particularly innovative or smooth in its execution. It was Cox's naturally anxious, and weathered performance which grounded this distorted story structure and style.

I was sort of tossing up between 5 or 6, but I went with the latter due to it keeping me involved in spite of knowing where it was heading.

This definitely fits the "Diamonds in the Rough" category for me, and I hope others check it out. It stars Courteney Cox as Sophie, and James LeGros as her boyfriend Hugh. As the movie begins, they are on their way home from dinner at a restaurant, when Sophie stops the car at a corner grocery and asks Hugh to go in and get some snacks. After he is gone for a little while, the grocery is held up and three people are shot dead by the robber, including Hugh. This happens on November 7th, which is a very important date to the movie. Flash forward, and Sophie is talking to her shrink about her headaches, and the visions and flashbacks she is having. She teaches a photography class, and while showing slides in the class, a slide comes up of the corner grocery where the incident happened, with her car parked out front and her in it. This baffles her, and she calls in the police, who discover, she was the one that took the picture. hmmm, impossible you say, well not in this movie, because this is only one of three visits the movie makes to that fateful evening of November 7th, each with a different version of the actual events.

"November" was picked to play at the Sundance Film Festival, and won a few awards. It's a very low budget, shot in fifteen days on HD, and is almost a student film. The photography is awesome, with a cool soundtrack, and outstanding acting. Courteney Cox is not prettied up at all in this movie, and she reminds me so much of Margot Kidder. And I LOVE Margot Kidder. Not just in looks, because she at times is almost a dead ringer for Margot, but in her acting style too. This is a psychological thriller all the way, and some may figure this out way in advance, and others may be thoroughly confused. For me, it shows what up and coming filmmakers can do with little money, when the material they have to work with is high quality. I'm not suggesting you go out and buy this little gem, but certainly it's worth a rental. I liked it very much, and it comes with two commentaries, both very good. Check it out, if you get a chance. :)

I really enjoyed the movie "November". I don't pretend to be an "intellectual snob" like some people who reviewed this movie - I just know what I like and what I don't. And I liked this movie. I thought the acting was terrific, the storyline intriguing and thought-provoking, and the film visually very haunting. I would recommend it to anyone - anyone that is who wants to go to a film and "think" about it afterward! I especially enjoyed the use of light and sound to convey the storyline and to move the plot along. The scene's that were I think the most interesting were the one's that kept repeating with different results - i.e. the trips to the counselor and dinner with Sophie's Mother (the terrific Anne Archer). Also, I thought that Courntney Cox gave a great measured performance. It was refreshing to see her play against type and appear in so bold a film. In conclusion, I would love to see this movie again - I believe it is a film to be watched over and over, and each time you would get so much more out of it. I look forward to owning it eventually on DVD. But I would recommend anyone who has the opportunity to see it on the large screen, since it would obviously be so much more effective that way.

This movie had a great structure. I liked exploring the real emotional reactions of "denial", "despair" and "acceptance" when dealing with trauma with the main character played by Courtney Cox. This movie is really difficult to talk about without giving it away and that is the one thing you don't want to happen when watching this movie. Trying to figure it out is what makes this intriguing.

I will say that the movie kept my interest and was terrific up until the ending. It is the type of ending that you can figure out so it doesn't "cheat" you. But it still wasn't a satisfying ending. Why? Because there were too many elements that were thrown in and even though I can understand why the main character would go through the thought processes that she did, I don't think that I would if I were in her shoes. That is, if I understood the ending properly.

Greetings again from the darkness. Although I never got the "Friends" fascination, I have always thought Courtney Cox has potential as a movie actress. On this one point, I believe "November" succeeds. She does have a nice screen presence, even when made out to be frumpy, deceitful and purposefully confusing.

This mess of a movie is presented by two relative new comers to the movie biz, director Greg Harrison and writer Benjamin Brand. Both may have something to offer, but it definitely is not on display here. The movie bills itself as a psychological thriller, but the best of these are smart, exciting and intense. This one is only intense for the viewer as we try to assemble the mish-mash of pieces. The M Night Shyamalan wanna-bes use Courtney's photos as clues to what really happened at the crime scene. The use of color change (Courtney's hand bag) and lens focus are also supposed to "assist" us with the timeline and understanding the real story. As the detective says in one scene, "it is too artsy for its own good".

The twists on the Anne Archer (as Courtney's mom) scene are fun to watch, James LeGros is capable as the murdered boyfriend, and the supporting cast is fine, but what kills this one is the failed presentation. I always admire filmmakers who will take a risk (there aren't enough of them), but this one proves there is little uglier than when that risk fails.